>> axelrod: tonight, newtown's police chief shares his story as the final three services are held for the victims of the sandy hook shootings. the chief tells our elaine quijano what he thinks of the nra's call for policemen in every school. >> i would hate to have to think that i have to put an armed officer in every school just to keep kids safe. >> axelrod: newtown the fiscal cliff and bad weather have all cut into christmas shopping. with two shopping days left michelle miller has been talking to worried retailers. and a church in a neighborhood devastated by super storm sandy holds its first wedding. >> hell and high water came and we're still going to make it happen. >> axelrod: tony guida with the story of an undowntowned bride and groom. captioning sponsored by cbs

this is the "cbs evening news." >> axelrod: good evening. i'm jim axelrod. an unbearable six-day stretch of funerals for the victims of the newtown shooting wrapped up today with the last three. mourners at the funeral of josephine gay wore purple. her favorite color. a horse-drawn coach carried the casket of six-year-old ana marquez-greene, remembered as a girl who never walked from room to room. she danced. six-year-old emilie parker was buried in utah, remembered for the markers and paper emilie always had with her because as she would say, "i have so many ideas of things to draw, it's hard to remember them all." newtown's police chief is talking publicly about the shooting for the first time. the chief and his captain sat down with elaine quijano this morning who joins us now. good evening elaine. >> reporter: good evening to you, jim. well, police chief michael kehoe and captain joe rios arrived at sandy hook elementary within minutes of the call. >> we needed to break into the school to get in.

because the back doors are secured. >> reporter: how did you get it open? >> broke out the window. >> reporter: it was quiet and the halls were empty, chief kehoe searched sandy hook elementary room by room. >> with the rooms locked, that means the teachers had done their job, locked their doors, and hid their children from danger. so we went around the building to the front of the building. >> reporter: tell me about that. >> there was a very tragic,un, observation on all parts because then you could see the carnage that was present. >> reporter: when you saw what was in that classroom what went through your mind? >> i was devastated absolutely devastated. i had no words. i felt a little bit of anger. towards the person who had done this. >> reporter: did you think there was anyone there to save? >> no. >> reporter: as a first

responder how do you deal with that? >> well, you feel a sense of guilt that you weren't there quick enough. to do that. but i also know that our response stopped that threat where he was, and he could not proceed any further. >> reporter: outside the building, captain rios was overseeing the evacuation. >> it was miraculous i kept seeing children come out of the building and i kept wanting more to come out and more. i walked in and it was horrific the crime scene itself and to see the adults and the children that were deceased in the classrooms, it was-- it was very hard, obviously, to comprehend what had happened. >> reporter: a year ago, chief kehoe read to a sandy hook kindergarten class.

all 20 children killed were first graders. >> i may have read to some of the students that may have perished or not and that kind of hit me hard. i know as part of that reading they got to ask a lot of questions, and some of those questions were about their safety and why policemen come to the school and i know that maybe in some way we, you know, failed them. >> reporter: you feel guilty you said earlier? >> i feel some sense of guilt you know deep down inside, i just believe that our job was to keep, you know kids safe, and it's supposed to be in a learning environment. >> reporter: how would you respond to suggestions that having armed police officers in schools could prevent shootings? >> i don't think we want to arm police officers in every school. >> reporter: the newtown police department already has three officers assigned to the school district, but chief kehoe says their primary role is

community outreach. jim. >> axelrod: elaine quijano in newtown, thank you. the debate over guns and school safety will only intensify as the calls for action in the wake of newtown grow louder. chip reid is in washington with that part of the story. >> columbine. >> virginia tech, tucson. >> reporter: more than 50 hool stars joined forces to make this new public service announcement calling for an end to gun violence. >> it's time. >> it's time for our leaders to act. >> demand a plan. >> reporter: the question now, should a plan include the nra's call for putting an armed officer in every school? >> it's total nonsense. >> reporter: no, is the answer from andrei nikitchyuk whose eight-year-old son was in the hallway at sandy hook limitary as bullets flew nearby. the solution, he says, is gun control. >> why are we allowing sales of weapons that terrible in this country? >> reporter: that is shared by

some parents parents in washington, d.c. where the son of bola aina attends school. >> mow we don't want guns in our school. >> reporter: but some parent here disagree. armed guards, they say, could be part of the answer. >> i think any effort to-- to protect our children is worth it. >> one of the difficulties is being every place, everywhere, all the time. >> reporter: school safety expert ronald stephens says having armed guards at schools could help but he noteses there was an armed deputy sheriff at columbine hool in colorado more than a decade ago. he was unable to stop the kill of 33 people by two heavily armed students. studies show security measures can make students feel less safe, according to school psychologist eric rossen. >> the ques are given that there is a risk of danger. >> desiree used to be an nray

supporter, and now she's not so sure, but her daughter likes the fact that newtown decided to station an officer at her school. >> when i told her there would be a police officer when she goes back on january 2, she said, "well, that makes me feel safe." >> reporter: the nray's proposal to put an armed officer in every school across the flags would take one of every seven police officers on the streets on school days, according to an analysis put out today by the reuters news atlantic city. >> axelrod: the nray president will be bob bob schieffer's guest. alone with kay bailey hutchison and democratic senator mark warner of virginia. they'll discuss the future of gun control. moving now to the the weather and a deadly cold snap sweeping across eastern europe. freezing temperatures there have claimed more than 200 lives. ukraine has been hardest hit. it has been snowing there for weeks. at least 80 people have died in crane, most of them homeless.

in britain it's the rain. devon in divest england is one of the areas deluged by storms. what about the weather across the u.s. in the next couple of days? the holiday travel season is now under way, and aaa expects more than 93 million americans to be on the move at some point most of them by car. jeff beradelli at our miami station wfor joins us. the next couple of days could affect travelers, could affect shoppers. what kind of weather are we going to see across the country? >> reporter: jirnlg it's nainl good news. it's pretty quiet across most of the united states right now with the exception of the west coast. we have a big storm slamming into there. tomorrow is going to be pretty quiet also across the united states so travelers shouldn't have too much to worry about. as we head into christmas eve, a small storm in the northeast,

and maybe eventually new york city on christmas eve night. >> axelrod: who will see a white christmas? >> it looks like the folks in the new york area, and then a bigger storm will brew in places like oklahoma and texas during the day on christmas. we could be talking about substantial snowfall. >> axelrod: jeff, thank you so much. it's nine days now until the fiscal cliff of tax increases and spending cuts. still, congress has gone home for the holidays, and today president obama and his family arrived in honolulu, where they'll celebrate christmas. the president says he is ready to return to make a deal. retailers called today "super saturday." it is traditionally one of the busiest shopping days of the year. businesses are banking on it because so far this season sales numbers have not been as stroongz many had hoped to see. here's michelle miller. >> reporter: kidding around isa a specialty toy store in new york city. you won't find any of this stuff

at target, wal-mart? >> no. >> reporter: the owner says today is his busiest day of the year. within the last month, what have your sales been? >> they're up from last year about 5.5% but some of that is the influence of the early hanukkah. >> reporter: he's doing better than most retailers. shopper track, which monitors consumer behavior nationwide, predicted holiday sales growth of 3.3%. they just cut it to 2.5%. >> the traffic growth has been solid but people are still very tight with their purse strings. >> reporter: retailer analyst craig johnson noticed a slowdown immediately after thanksgiving door busters sold out. >> up and down the spectrum from luxury to midtier to value there's a lot of weakness. it's not terrible growth but it's tepid sluggish growth at best. >> reporter: retailers say consumer enthusiasm has been dampened by the images from newtown, and the threat of higher taxes if washington fails to cut a budget deal. >> any time you take income out

of the consumer's pocket, you're going to reduce consumer activity and reduce retail spending. >> reporter: so retailers are offering steep discount toes salvage the season. aerpostle is offering 60% off. children's place is offering up to 75% off. >> when the kids need toys the kids need toys. when you need a present, you need a present. >> reporter: what he really needs is a big sales day. michelle miller, cbs news, new york. displim a federal judge has approved b.p.'s settlement with people who lost money and property in the 2010 gulf of mexico oil spill. b.p. plans to pay $7.8 billion to settle more than 100,000 claims. the judge still has to rule on medical claims for cleanup workers. later, searching for peace makers in a warton world. the first wedding in the wake of super storm sandy at one hard-hit new york church. and protests in india over

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outrage there. thousands clashed with police in new delhi, demanding justice after the gang rape. the attack on a city bus lasted more than an hour. the victim was also beaten with metal rods. six men have been arrested but most rapes in india are not prosecuted. egyptians went to the polls today in the second and final vote on a new constitution. the document has polarized the nation with critics worrying it gives too much power to islamists. adding to the instability egypt's vice president and eegypt's central banker both resigned today. pope benedict has issued a christmas pardon to his former butler. the pontiff visited paolo gabriele in prison forgiving him for stealing and leaking his private papers. the butler had been sentenced to 18 months. next up on the cbs evening news, in this season of peace on earth, a former top u.s. diplomat suggests we've lost our way when it comes to pursuing it

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sergei lavrov calls it a stalemate. this christmas season, peace on earth seems more elusive than ever. earlier today, i sphoak with former under secretary of state nicholas burns and asked who if anyone will be the peace makers? >> when i was growing up listening to people like lyndon baines johnson or richard nixon or hubert humphrey kennedy, eisenhower before that, their mantra was the highest aspiration of our society should be peace. it's interesting since 9/11 our political leaders have stopped telling us that. it's time they started reminding us again the ancient elusive goal of peace. it's part of the american tradition. it's part of who we are as a country. >> axelrod: so if the mechanisms of security have to do with the proper personnel and

weapon systems and technol, what beyond that produces piece? >> there are two things. first, it is a matter of national policy we decide after a time to end warses the way we've ended the war in iraq and will soon end the war in afghanistan. we decide that at certain times, the threat to other peoples is so grave that it endangers the general peace in the world we've got to act, as we must act right now to try to end the civil war in syria, where 40,000 people have died. we can't just stay at home. >> axelrod: do you think people look at the notion of peace and say "look, peace is wonderful, it's noble, it's terrific for us to aspire to but i'll talk to you about peace airfare feel safe." >> it's night binary choice. peace or security. you have to have both. but a great society will always remind itself that in the final analysis, our greatness will be determined by whether or not we're striving for peace. that's why we rate lincoln and

washington and martin liewcter king and franklin delano roosevelts as among the greatest leaders we ever had because they all stood for peace especially when times were very, very difficult. >> axelrod: you mentioned a number of politicians that you could tick off as pursuing peace a generation ago. are there a similar list of politicians to mention now? >> it's hard to find sitting presidents and prime ministers who are saying to their people, "my overriding goal is peace in our country or peace in the world." our politicians understandably have to cope with the economic crises with the age of terrorism in which we live, but but you can find people operating below that radar screen, sometimes not with the power of a state at their disposal, who are doing extraordinary things. things like the democratic leader of burma. people like you've malala yuseff,

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age. it has 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day 50+. it is now nearly two months since super storm sandy devastated new york and new jersey. few places were hit harder than new york city's breezy point, and few neighborhoods have people more determined to rebuild. tony guida has a case in point. >> reporter: tracy rutter arrived for her wedding in breezy points, queen, in a fire truck, fitting for a veteran e.m.t. marrying a longtime firefighter. >> come hell or high water, this day is going to happen. >> reporter: hell and high water came.

super storm sandy roared through breezy point queens, nearly two months ago. 111 homes burned to the ground. many of the other 28 hundred houses were destroyed by floodwaters, include the home tracy rutter shared with her fiance, rutter whalen. >> the first couple weeks we were going through two feet of water only to get down the main road. >> they planned to start a home here raise their daughter here. >> i think everybody needs a little bit of hope to see that we're going to pull through this and we're going to do it one day at a time and we're going to rebuild. >> reporter: st. thomas more church is still struggling from sandy. it has no heat. the rutter-whelen wedding was the first since the storm. monsignor michael curran saw it as an omen. >> it's kind of a sign of hope that the bonds of family life

are stronger than any wind or fire or flood. ( applause ) ( cheers ) >> reporter: those bobdz were celebrated in breezy point, queens. when tracy rutter, e.m.t. married rutter whalen firefighter at st. thomas more church. tony guida, cbs news, new york. >> axelrod: and that is the cbs evening news. later on cbs "48 hours." for now, i'm jim axelrod, cbs news in new york. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org